3 Tips for Organizing Baby’s Clothes in the First Year

Babies go through a lot of clothes in their first year, so how do you keep it all organized? Between baby showers, growth spurts and hand-me-downs you definitely need to have a system in place. Keep reading for my tips on organizing baby’s clothes in the first year.

Find Your Favorites

It might be tempting to throw all of your baby’s clothes in the wash so that you won’t have to do it later, but it’s actually best to hold off. Look through all of the clothes you’ve received so far and take out any that you wouldn’t have your baby wear, or that might not fit her. Sadly, not all clothing brands are true to size. I’ve found that our favorite fox onesie set from Gerber Childrenswear are very true to size, but that some other brands run smaller, wider or longer and thinner. The material is different, too. If a onesie is too thin or rigid it will get holes in it after a wash or two (this has happened to me with a few brands of onesies before). Keep the onesies made with quality materials that are for the right size baby. Gerber Childrenswear is a soft, durable cotton that is comfortable for my son to play in. If you’re still pregnant and know how much your baby weighs you can figure out if you’ll need premature, newborn or 3-month-old onesies first.

Separate By Size

Now that you’ve narrowed down the clothing you have on-hand, organize it all by size so it’s easy to find the ones you need quickly. Clothing dividers are a huge help when it comes to keeping things organized (I have a free printable for some, here). Hang everything up (tags and all) then wash just a few outfits from the size your baby is about to fit into next. Wash the rest of the clothing once she’s actually in that size clothing (babies sometimes go through certain sizes faster than others or skip them all together). This method allows you to pass on the clothes they don’t wear (donate, regift, or save for the next baby). The Gerber Childrenswear line at Target offers a variety of sizes in sets so that you can have all of your favorite onsies of a certain size grouped together already! If your baby is 3 months old and you have some size 2T and up clothing, organize it by size/season then store in a drawer if you don’t have hanging space for those as well. I also go a step further and organize by sleeve length and color to help me find what I’m looking for.

Rotate the Closet

Once you start to notice that certain sizes are getting a little tighter or harder to put on your baby, start putting that size of baby clothing aside as you wash it. I fold outgrown clothes and put the ones I have a special attachment to in a cabinet for future babies and the rest (in good condition) go in a donation bag. Once the outgrown clothes are out of the closet and drawers, there’s more room for future sizes and you don’t run into the trouble of trying to find something that actually fits.

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Bay Area mommy and content creator, Shari Wargo Stamps has been writing, teaching and taking pictures for 15 years. She started Savvy Every Day in 2013 and officially launched the website in May 2014 to create a parenting website for parents who care about the environment, what they eat and who they support through purchases and donations. In 2018, Shari changed the Savvy Every Day name to Navigating Parenthood and began work as a postpartum doula and peer postpartum support person through NavigatingPostpartum.com.